Origins Part 1

The
death of RC-1133

Geonosis

Geonosian weapons factory

Blaster
fire scorched through the air above their heads as Theta squad formed up around
the crevasse, the harsh orange glow of the Geonosian sky blinding them. Taler,
republic commando one one three three, looked down as Darman fast roped into
total blackness, and watched him hit the floor hard. The cavern was filled with
light from Darman's helmet spot lamp, the harsh light reflecting off the sharp,
angular stone walls.

Geonosians
clawed their way out of the rocks towards them, and Taler knew they had to hold
them off, the view in his heads up display showing Darman racing towards the
door behind them. Vin and Jay knelt down beside him, their DC-17's already
ablaze, cutting through the advancing Geonosians. The ground shook beneath them
and Taler felt his stomach knotting as spider droids appeared before them from around
the edge of the spires.

"You
having a party down there, Theta?" A voice barked to Darman. It was the CO
of Delta squad, the other unit of republic commando's that had been assigned to
the mission. They were a few meters higher up the slope, keeping the enemy at
bay beneath the ridge.

"A
lot of spider droids..." The voice hissed. Taler ignored the chatter,
lining up his sight with the nearest Geonosian and emptying another round into
its skull.

"I
hear you, Delta."

"In
your own time. No pressure. None at all..."

"Clear!"
Darman's voice cried. Taler signalled the unit to fall back and he watches as
Darman flattened himself against the walls. The explosives detonated and they
were surrounded by white light and an ear splitting roar. "Delta squad -
clear to enter. Take take take."

"I
thought you'd never ask," Delta's CO cried. Delta squad raced from the
ridge, and hooked onto the lines, fast roping into darkness. Taler braced his
rifle against his shoulder and signalled to Vin and Jay, all three fast roping
into the crevasse behind Delta squad. They raced forwards and disappeared into
the darkness heading north while Theta remained behind to secure the tunnels.
Something moved in the darkness.

"Darman,"
Taler said crisply. "Take that E-Web and hold this position." Darman
nodded, setting up the heavy gun in the opening of the tunnel. Taler signalled
to Vin and Jay to follow him and they move into the tunnel, back to back with
overlapping arcs of fire.

The
sound of the E-Web ripped through the caves as Darman opened up with the heavy
weapon, and a swarm of Geonosians erupted from the holes in the walls around
them. It was an ambush.

Taler
felt his finger squeeze the trigger, and watched as blaster bolts tore through
the gloom, illuminating the caves like a strobe. The Geonosian energy pulses
were ripping through the air around them. One skimmed passed Taler and he
turned in time to see it slam into Vin's chest. He was picked up by the force
and he soared across the cavern, Taler watching in horror as he crashed into
the wall and a shard of stone bursts through his chest. His scream tore across
the comlink.

"Vin!"
Taler ran across the cavern, dropping to his knees as he reached his brother.
Blood was pouring from the hole in Vin's chest as his body convulsed on the
floor.

"Man
down! Man down here," he yelled into his comlink. Jay was stood ahead of
him, covering them as the energy bolts tore through the air. It was all going
wrong.

Taler
turned and watched as Jay reached into his belt for a grenade. A bolt slammed
into Jay's shoulder and he lost his grip, the live grenade falling to the
floor.

"No,"
Taler yelled, racing towards the grenade, scooping it up and throwing it
towards the enemy moments before it blossomed in a ball of roiling flames and
light.

The
shockwave slammed into him and threw him against the wall. The rocks above him
crumbled and the cave collapsed.

A
soft, repeating beep echoed through the darkness. It started as a whisper,
silently calling through the gloom, growing stronger with each passing breath.

Wearily,
Taler opened his eyes, vague shapes and familiar images barely visible in the
gloom. A flashing red light seemed to match the beeping that sung in his ears
and as he tried to focus on the light, the inside of his helmet materialized in
front of his eyes. His head was still spinning, and he felt as though he was
weightless, still floating in the dreamlike state between consciousness and
sleep.

He
tried again to focus on the light, blinking away the ghost images of his
unsettled mind. The mist that filled his head began to clear and memories
flooded back. The Geonosians, the grenade, the cave in...

He
remembered it all, and he remembered being thrown across the cavern by the
explosion like a rag doll. Taler tried to move, but suddenly every inch of his
body erupted in pain. His lungs felt as though they were on fire, his arms and
legs weighed down like they were made out of stone. He knew that he had
probably suffered broken ribs and he had possibly shattered his wrist. But what
about...?

Vin?
Jay? Had they survived? Everything around him slid into sharp focus as his mind
became clear, his aches and pains receding to the back of his mind, becoming
background noise. He found himself staring through the unlit visor of his
helmet at a wall of stone. Instinct took over, and his eyes darted to the blinking
red light in the corner of his visor. He blinked twice at it, activating the
armour's systems, and watched as the visor struggled back into life. Words
scrolled down the left side of his HUD as the armour systems rebooted and ran a
rapid diagnostic.

All
the seals were still secure, air filters working at optimum levels. Everything
worked. At least he knew the katarn armour could take a beating.

Gingerly,
and with a lot of effort, he turned his right hand over, bringing the scanner
mounted into his palm to face upwards. Numbers flickered across the front of
his visor as the sensors probed the pile of stones that lay on top of him. He
was close to the surface, and could probably dig his way out. The loose stones
around him fell away as he clawed his way upwards, dragging himself and his
pack through a meter of stone before he felt his hand break free.

He
fell onto his side and rolled a few meters across the surface of the cave-in,
breathing heavily. Dust lingered in the air above him and the sounds of loose
stones clattering against one another echoed throughout the cavern.

Taler
blinked again at the little red light in the top corner of his visor, opening
the unit channel on his comlink.

Silence.
Blinking at the controls again, he switched to a longer range signal.

"Darman,
are you there? Darman?" It was only after he had spoken that he saw the
words flashing in the lower right hand corner. His long range communications
had been damaged and could not connect. Even if Darman was still on the other
side of the cave-in, there was no way Taler could contact him.

Anger
and irritation replaced fatigue. He had to find his brothers. Activating his
palm scanner again, he began to sweep through the rubble.

An
hour of searching ended with Taler digging out the lifeless bodies of his squad
brothers, Vin and Jay. The scanner on his palm had registered no life signs,
but it had been known to be wrong. He'd knelt beside Vin and popped the seal on
his helmet, lifting if from his brother's head.

Vin's
face seemed peaceful, the night vision filter on his visor colouring his skin
grey. Taler had seen that look so many times during live fire training when
other clones had been killed, but it seemed so much worse on the face of his
brother. He could almost have been sleeping, resting in between missions. But
Taler knew he would never wake up. He had been trained to be the best soldier
in the galaxy, but no one had ever told him how to deal with grief. He could
feel the pressure building up inside him, and he wanted it to go away, he
wanted to forget it was ever there.

A
rock tumbled somewhere off in the darkness, and Taler's hand dropped instantly
to his DC-17 that lay beside his leg. He snapped around to face where the sound
had come from, his finger slipping into the trigger guard. But nothing
appeared.

Minutes
passed before he felt it was safe to lower his weapon again. Turning back to
face his fallen brothers, he struggled with the emotions that were building up
inside him. He had been taught so much, and yet he realised that he knew very
little.

There
was nothing he could do for Vin and Jay, they were beyond anybody's help now. He
knew that the longer he stayed there, the more difficult it would be for him to
leave. Forcing himself to do something, he reached into Vin's pack and pulled
out all the ammunition he could carry. To some it would have seemed cold,
robbing the few things he could from a dead comrade. But Taler knew better. He
had been trained to be a pragmatist, and he knew that Vin no longer had use for
it.

Taler
reached down and removed Vin's side arm as well, but as he looked down at it, a
thought occurred to him. He ejected his wrist mounted blade, and carefully
etched his brothers name into the grip. It was Vin's, and it always would be
his.

He
did the same to Jay, claiming his ammo and his side arm, and carving his name
into the grip. His brothers would never be forgotten.

With
nothing else to do, and the pain of his loss growing stronger by the second,
Taler stood up and walked away, feeling a small part of himself dying as he
left his brothers for the last time.

The
maze of tunnels wound their way through the spires of Geonosis like veins
through some giant creature, opening out to caverns and branching off in all
directions. Taler wasn't sure if he was going around in one big circle or not,
but every time the floor angled upwards, he would follow it, hoping that by
going up, he would find a way out.

Shapes
and figures seemed to dance through the darkness that surrounded him, always on
the edge of his night vision filters range. He hugged the walls, edging his way
along the tunnels slowly. His breathing was getting worse and the pressure of
his broken ribs against his lungs was getting more and more unbearable.

Pressing
himself against the hard walls, he closed his eyes tight, willing the burning
pain in his chest to subside. He took two deep breaths, the cool, filtered air
from his helmet respirator soothing his lungs, and seeming to numb them for a
moment.

As
he opened his eyes again, he thought his armour systems were failing. His night
vision filter had deactivated itself, and he was blinded by the darkness around
him. But as his eyes adjusted, he saw why the night vision filter had turned
itself off. Up ahead, around a corner, a dim glow lit the edges of the stone
walls. He was close to the surface.

His
excitement almost made him reckless, the urge to run for the opening nearly
overpowering his training. He clamped down on the impulse and pressed his rifle
back into his shoulder, edging his way towards the corner, sweeping the sight
back and forth, his finger still in the trigger housing.

Darkness
gave way to searing sun light, and Taler stepped out into the harsh, arid air
of the surface of Geonosis.

Wind
whipped across the edges of the spire, and dust devils raced across the dusty
desert floor between them. It was an utterly barren landscape, lifeless, mirroring
the death that was hidden beneath. The wind gusted loudly, but beneath the
howling there was a distant rumble. It grew and grew, gaining strength with
each passing second. He knew the sound, he had heard it often enough in
training, and it always made his heart soar.

It
was the most beautiful sound in the universe to any clone, whether they were
trooper, commando or ARC. It was the sound of rescue, it was the sound of a
ride home.

Taler
frantically scanned the horizon for any sign of its source, his heart hammering
hard in his chest against his shattered ribs, each beat causing new levels of
pain.

The
sound changed in pitch as the idling engines were kicked into life, and Taler
watched as the last three LAAT/i drop ships lifted clear of the desert floor
and soared away into the sky.

They
had left him behind. His heart sank lower then it had ever fallen before. His
arms felt instantly weak and fell down by his side. He fell to his knees, the
dusty ground crunching beneath his armour. He wanted to scream for them to come
back, but as he opened his mouth, nothing emerged.

He
had known from training that he was bred to fight, and bred to die for the
republic. He would have given his life in battle and died alongside his
brothers. But he had never thought he would be left behind.

Vin
and Jay were dead, and he had no idea what had happened to Darman. He was
alone. The republic had cost him his brothers, and they had cast him aside.

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